Bulgarians are also leaving Spain: low pay, insecurity and pension drain

Bulgarians are also leaving Spain: low pay, insecurity and pension drain

The Bulgarian community in Spain, historically tied to construction and plumbing, is in retreat. Wages are too low to save, street insecurity deters newcomers and, according to several sources, those who stay are over 50 and waiting to retire so they can collect their pension in Bulgaria. An exodus that drains capital from the Spanish tax system.

The mirage of the Spanish salary

Those who came to work and build a future run into wages that do not even cover the rent. The impossibility of saving turns emigration into a pointless exercise: far from family, with no financial margin. Large cities such as Madrid and Barcelona are already feeling the shortage of skilled workers in traditional trades. Meanwhile, young Bulgarians opt for Germany or simply stay home, where adoption of the euro is improving their prospects.

The cross-border pension time bomb

A less visible side effect is the capital flight through pensions. Immigrants who contributed for 20 or 25 years in Spain return to their country when they retire, and the money from their benefits leaves the Spanish fiscal circuit. The figure, though imprecise, is estimated in the thousands of millions a year that never return. A hole the public system can hardly plug, especially with EU citizens whose payments cannot be restricted abroad.

Is it the minimum wage or structural precarity?

Some analyses point to the minimum wage as a deterrent to hiring, reducing demand for immigrant labour. But the most widespread criticism focuses on generalised precarity: exorbitant rents and survival jobs that do not make up for the uprooting. The open question is whether Spain can afford to lose one of its most productive groups in key trades.